The review discusses “Once Upon a Buggy”, a story of May Schott and Carl Hilty whose lives drastically changed due to a fire. Carl, severely burned, returns after six years, hoping May can love him beyond his scars. The plot revolves around their unexpressed feelings of love and their struggle to communicate. The reviewer acknowledges the book as a sweet and well-developed story. Infusing empathy, especially towards Carl. However, opines that the storyline failed to captivate them completely, leading to a rating of 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for platforms that exhibit only whole numbers. The review was shared later than expected due to health-related delays.
Tag: 3.5 stars
The Courtship Plan by Kathleen Fuller
Charity Raber may drive the reader crazy at first. She wears neon signs, front and back, in bold, blinking letters — “I WANT TO GET MARRIED. NOW!!!!”
She is ditzy, obnoxious, and has the social skills of a two-year-old. Okay, there had been a newspaper ad saying Birch Creek had a lot of desperate bachelors wanting to be married. When Jesse Bontrager tells her he is not interested and especially not interested in her, Charity is hurt. But she doesn’t give up her “plan” — she just changes locations.
The Love of a Good Amish Woman by Rosalind Lauer
The good Amish woman is Collette Yoder, now a widow, who gets “the looks” because her husband abandoned her. Now recovering from a bad accident, she is appreciative the new job will help provide for her children and help widower Bishop Aaron Troyer & his two daughters.
The bishop is much loved by the community but is becoming worn out by his bishop duties, running his farm and his daughters get little of his time. Collette is determined to help without letting them know how much she is attracted to this tired and kind man.
Fallout by Carrie Stuart Parks
Samantha Williams likes her life exactly the way it is. While teaching an elementary school art class, an SUV crashes into the building & her room. She manages to save the children. Her car is totaled; her purse is missing. And … the SUV’s driver is dead — shot.
As unusual events begin to happen, Samantha becomes more scared. Secrets swirl — the murdered SUV driver, memories of a childhood tragedy, an unusual PTSD project. Someone is determined to keep secrets buried and Samantha along with them.
Dead Sea Conspiracy by Jerry B. Jenkins
Archaeologist Nicole Berman is the first woman to be granted a permit to lead a dig in Saudi Arabia. She leaves America not long after her mother died. Or was it a natural death?
The team assembled has two new members after sudden last-minute withdrawals. One she knows well. She hopes the dig will prove that a Biblical figure lived in this location. If proven, it would seriously affect several major religions.
A parallel story is one of the young Abram (he would become Abraham) and begins in the ancient city of Ur. His ancestors, still living, were on Noah’s Ark.
An Amish Marriage of Convenience by Rachel J. Good
Nettie, a widow with four children, has deeply guarded secrets far different from other Amish women. Fear has gripped her over what her brother might do. Her children WILL NOT go through what she did!
Stephen, a widower with five children, moves to Lancaster County to buy his family’s farm stand. He can be paralyzed with fear in certain circumstances.
Both see themselves as damaged goods. Can a little old lady with a huge plan to improve the lives of teens in the town also make things better for Nettie and Stephen — and their children? She’s known as a matchmaker …